Chapter Text
Sarah looked around at her family, the women from different lines and upbringings all mish mashed together into the perfect unit. Her seven Biddies, Anacostia, Izadora, and, of course, Tally; even the pampered pig Truffles was lying on a pillow below the table snuffling her way through a bowl of apples. This was what it was all for. The hundreds of years of pain, torment, and loss had all led her here, to exactly where she was, with exactly who she was with. Eating good food, drinking her good whiskey, and laughing at every little thing. This was the safety and love that she had craved since she lost her parents so many, many, years ago.
Sarah was broken from her reverie by a hand grasping her own gently. She turned her head to face Tally, her glorious sunshine girl, beaming at her so softly that Sarah felt the redhead may melt her like ice cream on a hot day.
“You look lost in thought,” Tally said, adoration beaming from her face, dimples popping as they always did when she smiled. She had been watching her girlfriend for a long moment, focusing on each micro-movement of her face and wondering what each new line and change of expression meant, resulting in a pleasant flutter deep within her stomach when she realized she would have time to learn exactly what each meant to her beloved.
“I’m ruminating, my love,” Sarah replied surreptitiously, a soft smile of contentment painted across her own angular features.
“About?” Tally asked. Her heart stuttered as both of Sarah’s hands enveloping her own, the lith, and slightly chilled, fingers a juxtaposition against Tally’s notoriously warm ones. The edge of one of Sarah’s nails dug into the back of Tally’s hand in the most pleasant of ways, not painful just there. Tally lost herself for a moment as she imagined those same nails raking down her exposed back, scratching across her nipple, or digging into her thighs. Her heart sped up instantaneously, her breathing became labored as if the air in the room had become denser and she was sure Sarah could feel the cold sweat from her palms. But before she could worry about covering the signs of her arousal she was brought quickly down to earth by a contemplative sigh from Sarah, and thoughts of masochistic pleasure were filed away for another day.
“Everything,” Sarah explained, unhelpfully, but then continued. “My life, my family, both past and present… You.” Sarah lifted their conjoined hands to her lips and placed a chaste kiss to each of Tally’s knuckles. “I am so blessed to have you back in my life.”
If it was even humanly possible, Tally’s dimples deepened as her smile grew, giving a near perfect rendition of a Cheshire cat - albeit without the wide eyed stare of madness that accompanied the grin on that feline. Tally lost herself in the gentle smile lines around Sarah’s eyes and the look of adoration that bloomed across her face. To have someone look at her in such a way made her feel like the most important person in the world, and it was a feeling she wouldn’t easily give up. Tally’s cheeks took on a beautiful rose hue and Sarah felt affection bloom within her chest. Her knower truly was a gift from the Goddess.
“Sarah, I…” Tally started, uncomfortable with the praise that was coming her way, but Sarah interrupted, unwilling to hear the rebuttal from the woman she loved more than any other.
“You really can’t see yourself the way others see you, can you?” Sarah asked. “Because what I see when I look at you, Tally, is a woman worth dying for.”
Tally’s jaw dropped to the floor of its own accord, as goosebumps erupted across her skin. She dropped her eyeline to the table for a moment but she was quickly drawn back to Sarah’s eyes as the older witch spoke once more.
“I see a strong, compassionate, and capable soldier. A caring, encouraging, and patient teacher. A fiercely loyal friend. A leader, a warrior, a truly pure soul, and my lover. My song, my literal reason for existing in this life. My true soulmate.”
With each word from her love’s lips Tally felt herself transported closer and closer to heaven. Surely, hearing such affirmation from your lover was as close as one could get to the Christian afterlife as anything else upon the earth, but Sarah still wasn’t done and Tally wouldn’t miss a single word she said; certainly not for some over-sentimental thought of elysium.
“You are everything good and just in this world.” Sarah finished, then smirked wickedly as she took a breath to continue talking in a similar, and yet darker, tone with an edge of teasing. “Albeit… a bratty self-righteous little thing when you really get going, but I have a much better way of handling that now that you are mine.”
Tally, who was now giving her best impression of a tomato - if that tomato was also crying tears of joy, gave a single laugh. “Oh you do? Please tell me what you think you can get away with now that we’re together that you couldn’t whilst you were in charge of this whole place?”
While Tally had continued without calling attention to the use of the word ‘mine’, she hadn’t missed the casual way in which Sarah claimed ownership over her, or the way her stomach clenched as hearing it. The possessive nature of that word had never appealed to the young knower before, but when Sarah said it, it just seemed right. Tally was Sarah’s, the literal other half of her soul. But Sarah was also Tally’s in just the same way, and that equity made the ownership less controlling and more reassuring.
Sarah’s smirk deepened, and she leaned in to whisper in Tally’s ear - not nearly quiet enough as to be unheard by the rest of the table. “Well… little miss Tallia, now that you are mine I can-”
“Not at the dinner table, ma!” Ana cut across her mother, looking a bit queasy. “You can do whatever you want to her, in the privacy of your own bedroom, preferably with some sound proofing wards, a locked door and, actually, while we’re at it, when I’m not at home! I do not need to be traumatized by your need to…” She stopped, unsure of the right word to use that wouldn’t make her feel even more sick to her stomach.
“Discipline my pretty little redhead?” Sarah asked, eyebrow quirking to her hairline in challenge.
“Yes… that…” Ana replied, taking a deep sip of her wine.
“Sarah Alder,” Izadora spoke up, voice stern but the cheeky grin on her face making it clear her true feelings on the situation were that of amusement and a deep-felt affection. “You have been back with us for less than 4 hours, must you start one of your squabbles with your daughter already?”
“You know as well as I that Annie and I show our love by… what is it the children call it nowadays… bantering?” Sarah said, sounding very much like all of her 347 years.
“Please never say ‘bantering’ again,” Mona groaned, head in her hands in embarrassment.
“Oh I am glad things haven’t changed a single bit,” Tara laughed.
“Things have changed a little,” Gretta shot back with a shrug, “Sarah wasn’t getting laid before… or Mona and Iza for that matter.”
“Gretta!” “Oh my goddess I don’t need to know about my Ma getting laid…” “Izadora and… Mona?” “Oh it’s finally not a secret?” and various other shouts came from round the table, as Tally and Mona performed a spur of the moment impression of Total Wipeout’s big red balls.
Izadora and Mona shared a moment of intense eye contact, clearly communicating without words before finally Izadora addressed the table. “As I’m sure a few of you already know, me and Mona have been getting closer since the battle. We made it official a few days back, and we’ve been trying to decide the right time to tell everyone. Honestly, this wasn’t what we planned, but I couldn’t think of a better time to tell you all.”
“Holy shit! Iza, Mona I’m so sorry!” Gretta squeaked. “I was joking - I genuinely didn’t know - I never would have-” The intense look of panic on Gretta’s face made it clear that she genuinely hadn’t known the two were officially a couple.
“Gretta, it’s fine,” Mona halted her pseudo-sister’s panic before it could spiral. “The only people who knew were Sophie and Devon. I know none of you would ever betray my trust, I’ve been inside your heads remember,” she teased.
“I know but I still wish I hadn’t-” Gretta tried again to apologize.
“Gretta,” Izadora continued. “Was there a better representation of this family than a chaotic, unplanned reveal?”
Gretta paused, thought for a moment, and then relented. “No, I guess you’re right.” She then burst into a smile and said, “Well then, let me be the first to say congratulations! And to wish you good luck, Iza, I had to be inside her head… may the Goddess bless your fingers.”
“GRETTA!” Mona shouted, firmly taking the lead in the competition against Tally for human embodiment of a big red button.
“I mean she’s not wrong…” Alexis started as she nudged Mona with her elbow. “Lord knows how many batteries you burnt out when you thought we were all asleep. Your nickname should be rabbit, not baby bat.”
“Oh it really is fun when you’re not on the receiving end of the teasing!” Tally exclaimed excitedly. “Now I see why you all do it to me!”
“I’m sure it can be arranged for you to be the recipient… I certainly don’t want to be,” Mona replied sarcastically. Although she was quietly content to know that her family approved of her relationship with Izadora; if they didn’t they simply wouldn’t tease her about it.
“No, nope, nu uh, nix, nein, não, nahi, nie, no… I’m good” Tally protested firmly, making her opinion known in every language she knew.
Sarah mentally stepped into their shared brainspace and all but purred inside Tally’s head. ‘ Oh but darling you blush so beautifully when I tease you. I’m sure if I truly teased you that you would sound so pretty for me as you tried to stifle those beautiful moans you demonstrated earlier. Just think of it, sweet girl, my fingers buried deep within your core, pressing just where you need me until you're begging me to let you cum. But I am only teasing after all, so I couldn’t let you cum just yet. I would take you right to the edge, and then stop. I would talk to you about your studies, about the socio-political economy for witchkind, the weather, anything to distract your mind and calm your racing heart beat and just as you get lost in your passionate ramblings on the topic I will bring my fingers back between your legs and start the whole process again… You would be exquisite. Beautiful. Mine. ’
Tally’s heart beat uncontrollably, moving with the speed of a runaway train as she tried in vain to control her reaction to Sarah’s words, but her lover knew exactly what to say to stir her libido. Tally felt herself grow wet, and only her strict discipline from the army stopped her from squirming in her seat. The thought of Sarah touching her like that, of being taken right to the edge but denied again and again was intoxicating. She imagined how Sarah’s fingers would move within her and wondered how she would be as a lover. Would she be gentle, adoring, would she treat Tally as something precious to be worshiped and loved like an ancient artifact? Or would she take her hard and fast, relentless in her mission to make Tally cum again and again? And not for the first time today, a thousand situations raced through her mind. The mental images of carnal pleasures, bodies moving together, sweat and skin, pain and pleasure, control and freedom. It did nothing but spike her arousal, and as she felt her nipples harden under her clothes Tally couldn’t stop the hitch of her breath.
She quickly scanned around the table, praying that she hadn’t been caught, but luckily the conversation had moved on around them without any indication that anyone had noticed their mental exchange. That was until Sophie exclaimed, “Don’t worry, Mona, it appears that Sarah is teasing Tally enough for all of us, or at least I would guess as much by the way Tally’s breath is hitching.”
‘ Oops, I think you got us caught there, Tallia. Now be a good girl and finish your dinner. Can’t go ruining some good food just because we both know you are wet for me. ’
‘ Sarah Alder you are a dangerous woman, and you are in so much trouble!’ Tally replied through their link, but they both knew that the knower’s underwear was uncomfortably damp.
‘ Oh I do look forward to receiving my scolding, then perhaps I’ll punish you for speaking to me in such a manner. Now don’t be rude, reply to Sophie, ’ Sarah instructed, the smirk clear in her voice and on her face.
But Tally was far too stubborn to take Sarah’s teasing lying down. “Sorry Sophie, Sarah here was just discussing the merits of corporal punishment.”
“TA! I thought it was Ma I had to worry about!” Ana exclaimed and then sighed softly to herself. “These two are gonna be the death of me…”
Izadora reached across the table to grasp Anacostia’s hand. “Our parents are meant to embarrass us to death, welcome back to the world of parents that love each other.”
Ana’s breath hitched, her eyes widened in shock for a second and she looked akin to a puppy that had been kicked. Her years of experience controlling her emotions in the field kicked in and she took a series of steadying breaths, but she couldn't stop the tears from gathering in her eyes, even if she refused to let them fall.
Izadora squeezed Ana’s hand in hers, and a sad but understanding smile crossed her features. “I know, believe me, I know.”
“No,” Anna replied firmly, dashing her tears from her eyes. “I’m not crying over this now. Not today. Not when I’ve finally got Ma back. Today is a happy day.”
“It is!” Devon replied with a grin. “And if everyone is finished… It’s time for the apple crumble.”
The usually quiet Sophie suddenly released a sonorous woop of excitement, her hand curled into a fist as she swung her arm round and round, almost looking like she was spinning a lasso.
The hilarity of the action triggered Ana to burst out laughing, quickly followed by the rest of the table.
“Custard or ice cream?” Devon asked over the raucous laughter.
A resounding shout of ‘Custard’ from every single person at the table caused them all to laugh again. Ana was right, today was a day for laughter not tears. Today was a happy day.
After an entire evening of good company, stimulating conversation, and delicious food, the group all retired to their rooms. Despite having quarters on base, both Anacostia and Tally had their own room within the Biddies house. The Biddies had said they were ‘still family’ and as such needed their own rooms.
Tally had been given the master bedroom; had Sarah still been alive at the time, the knower would have been in there anyway and so, despite Tally’s protests, the master bedroom was hers.
Now Tally and Sarah walked hand in hand towards the room, past pictures of past Biddies, Sarah at varying stages of her career, and even a photo from Tally’s basic graduation.
“The main bathroom is at the end of the corridor down there. And the laundry room is the door to the right just before you reach the bathroom. Our room is…” Tally froze, realizing what she had said the moment it had escaped from her lips. Her insecurities reared their heads the moment she spoke, and she was just about to start backpedaling when Sarah spoke.
“Our room? I like that. I’m glad you're not trying to send me to the guest room,” Sarah teased, squeezing Tally’s hand three times as if to say ‘I love you’.
“I mean… this should have been your room really, the Biddies added it with you in mind even though you weren’t with us. So if anything it would be you sending
me
to the guest room,” Tally replied, trying with all her might to take Sarah at her word and not let her own self doubt ruin the moment.
“Yes, darling, but you’ve been partly living here for the past three months, so you would get precedent. Anyway…it isn’t a discussion. We shall both be staying in the room, so the logistics of ownership are unimportant,” Sarah said calmly as they approached the door to their bedroom. It was painted a pale mint green and had the words ‘Tally and Sarah’ painted across it in beautiful gold calligraphy. Sarah’s heart squeezed for a moment as she saw their names entwined together by the swirling script. Even after her death her family had still included her, had still made a point of recognising her existence, and that meant more to Sarah that she could ever communicate.
With Sarah’s encouragement, Tally didn’t hesitate at the door and pushed it open to reveal the space. It was overflowing with greenery; plants of all shapes and sizes littered every available surface, a rainbow of flowers in the window box were visible through the glass, and the plants swayed gently in the breeze as if to say hello. Hanging ivy sat in a macrame hanger from the ceiling, creating a waterfall effect as the leaves and vines cascaded down towards the floor. There was an abundance of light in the room, looking around she saw overhead lights, that Sarah suspected never got used, lamps dotted around the room and even candles placed on decorative trays.
The majority of the light, however, came from the window. The entire outer wall consisted of a single large glass pain which bathed the room in silver moonlight and gave it a feeling of being in a jungle at night. Sarah looked forward to many nights spent stargazing from her bed, showing Tally the constellations she had been taught by her mother as a child.
The room itself was eclectic in style; it was clear that Tally had had a hand in the design. The bed was made of pale beech wood and dressed in cream bedding with a pale mint green blanket placed over the foot of it. Large bookcases lined one wall from floor to ceiling. Sarah spotted all the books from her office and her prior bedroom, as well as a large stack of books that she was sure belonged to Tally.
There was a cream hammock chair hanging from the ceiling, cushions and blankets piled high creating an almost nest-like hole within it. It warmed Sarah’s heart to imagine Tally curled up in the hammock with a book, getting completely absorbed by the story until it was dark outside the window and she was squinting to read the words on the page.
Behind Sarah’s back, Tally wrung her hands together nervously, shifting her weight from foot to foot. In Sarah’s quiet observation of the room, Tally’s anxieties had grown louder, promising the young knower that every decision she had made was wrong, that she had no right to decorate the room or to touch Sarah’s belongings. Every negative thought that had plagued her mind for the past three months banded together to create an indefensible swell of self doubt. “If you don’t like it, we can redecorate.”
Sarah heard the anxieties in Tally’s voice instantly and turned to see the look of complete dejection on the younger witch’s face. She opened her arms for her beloved and then wrapped Tally in her embrace. “Darling, I don’t want to change a thing. It’s beautiful. It reminds me of my greenhouse.”
Tally felt the swirling emotions begin to ebb as soon as she was in her lover’s arms. The reassurance that Sarah liked what she had done helped to quiet the voices in her head that told her it was all wrong. She pulled back enough to look up at Sarah, her brown eyes twinkling as they turned glassy from tears. “That was my inspiration. I wanted this room to be your happy place and I knew that was your greenhouse; well, until now, I hope. That’s why there are so many plants and the window, obviously.”
Sarah felt her heart stutter once more as she was overcome with love for her knower. “You did this all…for me?” Until this moment she hadn’t dared to think that Tally had designed this room for anyone but herself; she thought the similarity to the greenhouse was just a coincidence, so to know that each choice was made with Sarah in mind was affirming in ways she didn’t know a simple plant could be.
“Of course I did… I love you, Sarah,” Tally said, applying pressure to Sarah’s back where her arms were circling her waist.
It was Sarah's turn to pull back to look at Tally now, for a moment just letting herself get lost in the redhead’s beauty. She trailed her eyes across the tracks of freckles, observed the brown and gold flecks in her eyes and stared at the pale pink of her lips. Then she lifted her hand from Tally’s waist and trailed her nail down Tally’s cheek, catching her lower lip just slightly as she did so, dragging it down for a second before it sprang free. “As I love you,” she replied before leaning down to press her lips against Tally’s own.
As they came up for air, they rested their foreheads together, both calmed from being in each other's arms. They could have stood together for a millennia and still been content to stay exactly where they were; they could fossilize or calcify and still remain at peace. The soul bond was once again purring like a large cat, but like one that had just eaten a fish dinner and was now relaxing by a roaring fireplace with a nice human to scratch behind its ears; all that is to say - the soul bond was as content as Tally and Sarah in this moment.
Tally tilted her head once more to bring their lips together but pulled back in surprise as she felt the wetness against her cheek. “Sarah, my love, you’re crying.”
Sarah’s eyes shot open and she brought her hand up to her own eyes, feeling the wetness of her tears against her finger tips. “I am,” she said in shock.
“Are you okay?” Tally asked as her brow furrowed in concern.
“I’m just happy. I feel safe, in a way I haven’t for …a very long time.” Sarah pulled Tally’s head to rest against her chest, unaccustomed to being seen at her most vulnerable. One day she would let Tally see her cry, but she wasn’t there just yet. She pressed a kiss to the crown of Tally’s head and then remained resting her chin against red hair as she grew comfortable with the feeling of being safe and secure.
Tally herself was content to remain where she was, surrounded by Sarah’s scent, wrapped protectively in her arms. Nothing could have felt better after so long thinking Sarah would never return. With each passing moment she felt herself calm; the anxiety that had captured her heart for months began to release its grasp, her tense muscles began to loosen, and the frayed edge of the soulbond continued to knit back together.
Tally found herself drifting back to their reunion in the mycelium room, and a moment of fresh anxiety spiked within her chest, but she forced herself to push it away. She knew that Sarah would respect her wishes without question, she only needed to communicate her needs. “I don’t want to… I mean I do want to but not…. Oh I’m making a complete mess of this,” she sighed dejectedly.
Sarah tried to step back to make Tally look at her, but the redhead clung on tighter and kept herself pressed up against her chest. Tally, too, needed to be unobserved in her emotions, at least for now. To look in Sarah’s eyes as she said what she needed to say would have been too much.
“No, please just let me say this. I want to sleep with you, a lot, but not tonight. I just want to be with you. I think I need to know the Mother isn’t going to pull you away from me again. I can’t open myself up to you like that and then have you ripped from me again. I can’t…” Tally sucked in a ragged breath; the emotions she had been battling for months all finally coming to the surface once more. A swirling sea of grief, anxiety, pain, loss, and confusion that threatened to drag her under. Tears quickly pooled in her eyes, and it was only seconds later that they began to fall.
Sarah held her tighter, pressing kisses to her hair and applying a steady pressure against Tally’s back. “Oh my sweet girl, I’m here. She’s not going to take me again, she promised. I’m here for as long as you live. We are together until the end of your days. You never have to live another day without me. I promise you that.”
The sobs grew heavier, Tally’s shoulders bobbing as she fought to catch her breath. The keening sound that was forced from within her sounded foreign even to Tally’s own ears. It was a sound of grief and longing so pure and strong that Sarah found herself sharing the pain even though she couldn’t feel the emotion.
“I can’t,” Tally cried. “I can’t lose you again.” The emotions welling within her constricted her breathing, squeezing her lungs like a band around her chest. Her hands grew clammy and her vision blurred as the tears poured like a fountain from her eyes. The world fell further and further away as her panic became all consuming, stealing her attention, her thoughts and her control as easily as if she were being puppeted.
Sarah could tell that Tally was approaching some form of panic attack, her breathing coming in shorter and sharper gasps as the sobs took over her body. “And you won’t lose me again,” she replied calmly, hoping that her words could soothe the ache that pained her lover.
“But how do you know that?” Tally cried. “What if I let you in again, love you again and then…” Tally tried to pull away completely, but Sarah only clung on tighter, just as she had in the office of the hangar. Within a few moments Tally relaxed into her hold, but the tears still didn’t subside.
“Listen to me, Tally Craven, and hear me.” Sarah took a deep breath, preparing herself to be emotionally vulnerable in a way she had rarely found necessary in her first life but which now seemed so incredibly important in her second. “I am going nowhere. I am yours for as long as you will have me. Our lives are tied together, entwined for eternity . I am yours, Tally Craven, as you are mine. Together, a partnership, two halves of a whole,” Sarah continued soothingly.
But Tally couldn’t hear her above the sound of her own cries. She had taken refuge within her own mind, overwhelmed to the point of shutting down. Sarah did the only thing she could think of and slipped into their shared headspace.
It was strange being inside this liminal space between their minds; it was almost as real as the outside world, with rooms and objects everywhere she turned. But unlike the real world, within this space anything could happen. Emotions manifested as physical events, earthquakes, floods, sinkholes in the floor beneath your feet, rose bushes, mistletoe or meadows of flowers could spring to life apropos of nothing. Even entire picnics or three course meals had been known to appear. It was akin to the world of Wonderland, where cookies could make you grow and magical drinks could make you shrink. All manner of creatures, beings, and spectral phenomena were prevalent and you never knew what would happen next. Sarah and the Biddies had shared many wonderful days out within this shared space but Sarah knew all too well that the space was a manifestation of the emotions that fed it in each moment and that Tally’s emotions right now were far from the realms of ‘wonderful days out’.
Sarah stepped through a door into Tally’s mind and was instantly hit by a wave of the intense feelings that Tally was experiencing. The pure onslaught of emotions threatened to overwhelm her, but she was here to support Tally and she wouldn’t fail. She couldn’t fail.
A fierce wind blew from before her, blowing so fiercely that Sarah was forced backwards a few paces, just enough for the door to start closing in front of her. But Sarah grasped hold of the frame, pulling herself through the door just in time for it to slam shut behind her. The moment the door shut the wind stopped, but Sarah knew it wouldn’t be the last of the defense mechanisms Tally’s brain put in place to stop her in her tracks.
She took a moment to breathe and prepared herself to venture further into Tally’s mind. Sarah consciously took some of the emotional burden onto herself, allowing it to settle on her shoulders. They sagged under the weight, but she felt, more than heard, Tally take a breath of relief and knew she was succeeding in her mission. She gave herself a moment to grow accustomed to the feeling raging through her, giving herself until the count of 10 until she had to move.
1
She felt the overwhelming sadness that Tally had felt when Sarah died, as forget-me-nots grew from the ground around her.
2
A grief that threatened to unmoor her from reality burst to life within her chest, as a willow tree began to grow rapidly only meters from Sarah, its drooping fronds scraping the floor.
3
An aching loneliness, a yearning for her other half that no amount of friends or family could hope to soothe, throbbed within her heart, and a single turtle dove popped into existence on the uppermost branch of the willow tree, a desperate coo forced from its small beak.
4
Next came rage. A bubbling, burning rage that singed her skin and encouraged her to burn the world for the sake of her love. This was accompanied by a burst of living fire erupting to life in the distance, burning the flowers and grass in its path.
5
Numbness. An aching cold, a void of emotion that felt more like punishment than relief. Luckily the arctic wind that blew through the space pushed the fire away from Sarah, but the chill clung to her skin and her breath fogged in the air in front of her face. It was a biting cold, frigid, and without a hint of a summer warmth. This was a chill of the depth of winter, a winter with no christmas cheer or new year frivolity. This was the ice of a long forgotten spot in the tundra of the south pole, so cold that blood would turn to ice in your veins and tears freeze like icicles against your lashes.
6
Next came terror, a fear so intrinsically buried within her soul, that told her to retreat from those she loved or they, too, would be pulled from her arms if she allowed herself to love them. The turtle dove was whisked into the swirling wind; it fluttered its wings but was helpless to the sheer force of the air that threw and caught it like some twisted game of catch.
7
At this point, the swirling emotions became too overwhelming to distinguish, blending together and manifesting into one towering wave that crashed into Sarah and threw her around in its waters like a rag doll. The ocean of tears was baltic, chilling her to the bone, and soon deep enough that even the top of the tall willow tree was lost in its unfathomable depths.
8
Sarah tried to swim against the current, but it was impossible. She had no choice but to allow the water to drag her through its murky depths, gulping in a breath whenever her head broke the surface before being plunged back below by the surging current.
9
She felt the peripheral of her vision turning dark as she began to lose consciousness, the swirling tide of emotion stole her ability to breath, keeping her under long enough that she saw spots in her vision and her chest burned from lack of oxygen. But Sarah refused to fail and to fall to the bottom of the ocean floor. This wasn’t real, only a mirage, a vision, a trick of the mind. She couldn’t be hurt here, not really. It was like a dream, and dreams, dear reader, cannot hurt you mortals. Sarah was here for Tally, and she wouldn’t let her down.
10
Finding her determination, she pushed up, thinking about Tally and their love for one another. Almost as if summoned, a golden thread burst to life beside her, and she grasped it in both hands, tugging herself along the thread in the hopes it would lead her to Tally.
With the golden threat to hold onto, she quickly broke the surface, and with a few swift kicks of her legs she was suddenly reaching the edge of the water. Not some version of a beach or shore but instead the water simply stopped; a perfectly straight line between the deepest ocean and a flooring of deep stained wooden planks. As she stepped onto dry land, both Sarah and her clothes were dry once more, and she knew she was getting close. Tally had stopped fighting against her and instead was drawing Sarah in. The floor tilted downwards, steeper and steeper until it was too steep for Sarah to walk and she was forced to sit on the floor and slide. As soon as she pushed herself forwards a little bit, the floor dropped from beneath her, turning into a steep slippery slide. She fell and fell, but she wasn’t scared; the thread was still held firmly within her grasp, and each second she slid down the pseudo-slide brought her closer to Tally.
Until, after what felt like hours, all of a sudden and all at once the slide stopped, leveling out into a room that looked identical to the corridor of Basic’s barracks. Sarah climbed to her feet and began down the corridor, following the thread and moving closer towards the room that Tally and her sisters had occupied in their first year.
Finally, the thread led her to their door, and she walked inside into a room that looked suspiciously like Nicte’s cabin. Dark though it was, she could still see a figure huddled in the corner where just the tips of red hair peeked from beneath her hood.
Sarah moved towards the figure, careful as to not startle her lover, inching across the floor as quietly as she could, until finally she crouched beside Tally, holding out her hand to the redhead. Tally could feel that Sarah was near, and she didn’t startle, simply lifting her head from the wall to look at Sarah through tear stained eyes.
Tally had felt each emotion as keenly as Sarah had experienced them; the fire, frost, and flood born from her own mind had attacked her just as it had Sarah. She felt lost, broken and bruised. But Sarah brought a warmth that she craved. The thread connected them directly now, shining brightly, as if its power had been concentrated the closer they had gotten.
“I’ve got you,” Sarah vowed as she held her arms open for her beloved.
Tally nearly launched herself into Sarah’s arms, her tears starting afresh as her chest shook with her cries. The glittering connection dispersed into a golden glow that hung around them for a moment before that too dissipated into nothingness.
Sarah, strong from many years of training and fighting, slipped her arm under Tally’s legs to hold her bridal style, and then, with a strength not many possessed, pushed up to her feet with Tally still in her arms. “I’ve got you.”
Tally continued to sob, pressing her face into Sarah’s neck as she did so, but Sarah only continued to walk towards the partition between Tally’s mind and their conjoined space, whispering words of comfort and praise as she moved.
Tally felt wrung out, the emotions she had pushed away for so many months finally striking had sapped her of all the energy she had and she went limp like a rag doll in Sarah’s arms, knowing in her soul that she was safe and protected. Sarah wouldn’t let anything hurt her. I made sure of that, dear reader, never fear our fated lovers will make use of the bond I bestowed upon them.
As they stepped through the door into their shared space the reaction from Tally was nearly instantaneous. Sarah, herself, felt as the weight was lifted from her shoulders, and the easing of Tally’s tears reassured her that Tally had felt the same relief.
“I am going nowhere, Tally. I am yours and you are mine. Forever. There is nothing you nor I can do to change that. You are safe with me Tally, you never have to feel like that again.”
“I’m scared,” Tally admitted in a small voice.
“I am too, but I have lived too long in fear of losing people. I refuse to miss out on a single moment with you just because I’m scared of losing you again. I will love you for as long as there is breath in my lungs, until the sun sets in the east and rises in the west, until the skies turn black and the earth turns to ash, until the end of conscious thought within my mind. I want everything with you, Tally, and I want to live each day as if it is our last. But we cannot live in fear; I’ve done that, and I promise you - it cannot change what life has in store for us. So be with me, here and now. Do not linger in the past, for only pain lives there.”
Tally looked at Sarah, saw the sincerity shining from her eyes, and smiled softly. She placed a chaste kiss against her lover’s lips and then brought her hand to cup Sarah’s cheek. “Okay,” she said, wiping a tear from her own cheek with the thumb of her opposite hand. “Okay, Sarah. I trust you, and I trust the Goddess. I know it won’t be easy, but I promise not to shut you out just because I am afraid.”
All at once the mental space dissolved around them, and they were back in their room, exactly as they had been before Tally lost control. They stood face to face with their arms wrapped around each other a mere breath apart.
“I love you, Tallia Craven, Imé wèlá,” Sarah whispered as quietly as a hummingbird's wing.
“I love you too, Sarah,” Tally whispered back.
Sarah leaned down and placed a featherlight kiss against Tally’s lips. “For as long as we live, you have my heart.”